City in search of public works director

City in search of public works director

City in search of public works director

City in search of public works director

MT. PLEASANT — Public Works Director Bobby Nutt will be leaving his post after five years to pursue another position in West Tennessee.

Nutt said his last day will be Feb. 7, after which he will move to Somerville in Fayette County and serve as its public works director. He made the announcement during a study session Thursday at City Hall.

The public works director called the decision a tough choice, but he said the move was for his family.

“I always said that if I did pursue a situation that it would definitely be a betterment both family- and career-wise, and that position occurred,” Nutt said.

He encouraged city officials to actively recruit people to fill the position, a move that may prove difficult because of the city’s portrayal in the media.

“We have had good times, and we have had bad times, and we have faced a lot of issues,” Nutt said. “There is a lot of progress going on. I feel that five years from now you will look back and see that we’ve changed a whole lot of things.”

Commissioner Chris Frierson said he was worried about the transition period between employes while there are ongoing, unfinished projects, including a new water treatment facility. He wanted to ensure the new employee would work closely with City Manager Michelle Williams to follow through with projects Nutt started.

The city is in the beginning stages of building an $8.6 million, 2-million-gallon micro-filtration plant, a 1-million-gallon water storage tank and replacing about 18,000 feet of 16-inch water line. The new plant will be located near the current facility in the Sandy Hook community.

Nutt offered to visit the city and help acclimate the new employee to ongoing projects.

Commissioner Bob Shackelford asked Nutt if there was an internal candidate that could fill the position. Nutt said there was not but he would provide Williams with a few possible people who are interested in the position.

Williams said she will be reaching out to engineering professionals about the job. She also said that there would be some reorganization in the public works department after Nutt’s departure.

“Bobby, I wish you the best,” Mayor Maury Colvett said. “I think we are losing a good man, but I understand that you play for the home team, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Rules for posting comments

Comments posted below are from readers. In no way do they represent the view of Stephens Media LLC or this newspaper. This is a public forum.

Comments may be monitored for inappropriate content but the newspaper is under no obligation to do so. Comment posters are solely responsible under the Communications Decency Act for comments posted on this Web site. Stephens Media LLC is not liable for messages from third parties.

IP and email addresses of persons who post are not treated as confidential records and will be disclosed in response to valid legal process.

Do not post:

Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.

Obscene, explicit, or racist language.

Copyrighted materials of any sort without the express permission of the copyright holder.

Personal attacks, insults or threats.

The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.

Comments unrelated to the story.

If you believe that a commenter has not followed these guidelines, please click the FLAG icon below the comment.